Airline Woes

As I prepare to leave for Las Vegas tonight, I can't help thinking about actually getting there. What I’m talking about is air travel.

In my past travels, American and Canadian airlines have proven that their public relations strategies need some serious attention. Let me start with my flight back to Canada from Japan after being away for nine months.

To make a long story short, my two large suitcases (containing pretty much my whole life) were delayed and never made it to Toronto. I had transferred planes in San Francisco and had to recheck my baggage and it must have missed the flight to Toronto by a minute.

Dealing with United Airlines was a very unpleasant experience, to say the least. They requested that I fill out a luggage report so I could get my bags back the next day. They never came and it became a huge ordeal. When I followed up by phone, I was transferred to agent after agent and no one could provide me with any answers about the whereabouts of my luggage. It felt like I was in grade school playing telephone tag instead of dealing with an established company.

Days later, I took matters into my own hands, drove down to the airport and physically tracked down my luggage. It had been hiding in a back room behind the United check-in counter. After this experience, I drafted a letter to the director of customer relations explaining my situation and requested a refund for the trouble I went to. Websites like this, reaffirmed my belief that dealing with United was lengthy and time-consuming. It was, but in the end I received $150.

Here’s another great one:

On my way to Nassau, Bahamas on a WestJet flight in December 2008, passengers were delayed for over eight hours on the tarmac. A series of events unfolded that were not entirely related to the weather. A woman was sick and was rushed off the plane in an ambulance and then two women decided they didn't want to fly anymore because they were nervous. The remaining passengers were enraged by the end of the day, were provided with no food. What's more, WestJet did not offer its “valued customers” any form of compensation.

WestJet's lack of accountability seriously made me question whether I will fly with them again. As a result, I wrote another letter and haven't heard anything yet. Are they proving my above point? Yep. I mailed the letter over a month ago and still haven't heard anything. Not a quick e-mail, telephone call, or letter. Their communication is not timely, which goes again everything a successful PR department should value and practise.

Communications practitioners at airlines have to juggle angry customers on a daily basis and it must be challenging. The way I have been dealt with in the past as a “valued customer” really makes me think there is a bigger problem at stake and perhaps communications plans should be revamped to minimize these common occurrences.

Let’s hope I make it to Las Vegas tonight. I know once I step out into the desert heat it will be worth it.

Venturing to Vegas

In the words of Elvis Presley, “Viva Las Vegas!” On Thursday night I’ll be flying there for the weekend. It’ll be my first time.

I mentioned in my previous post that I’ve done more traveling this year than ever before—partly because it’s so affordable. The current economic state has presented many challenges, especially for the travel and tourism industry.

Every morning while I’m perusing the paper, I see countless ads for discount travel companies like itravel2000. My inbox is also flooded with e-mails from Air Canada coaxing me to see the latest discounts. And I do. From a consumer standpoint, their strategies and tactics have worked. I visited the Bahamas in December and will be going to New York City in February.

During my recent trip to the Bahamas, I really noticed how much the economy was hurting. This popular Caribbean destination, normally oozing with families during the holidays, was more like a ghost town.

Vegas is, no doubt, a hot travel destination and the cost to visit is at an all time low. While doing research for my trip, I came across this. The site, which is the largest of its kind in the world, is embracing social media to keep up with the “pace of change” and is probably reaching more consumers than ever before. Vegas.com is “always open” for potential visitors and has Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Flikr and MySpace. Site visitors can now feel like they’re in Vegas without leaving their desk chairs. Talk about being connected.

So, this is my question: Does social media contribute to increased tourism in a plunging economy? I’ll have to report back with my findings and let you know if Elvis’s words are still true.

Back to Blogging

Social media. Like one of my classmates, Sarah, I didn’t really know too much about the wonderful world of Twitter, Digg, Delicious and Stumble Upon it until I entered Centennial College’s Corporate Communications and Public Relations program in September 2008—a program that focuses largely on social media.

Four months later, I’m going social media crazy—swimming in a sea of Tweets, Facebook status updates, blogging and being somewhat antisocial. In fact, I was joking with one of my classmates that I’ll be chained to my computer until I graduate in May. I guess that’s what social media has done to us, eh?

My latest social media experiment is to create a blog. It’s one of the requirements for my online public relations course taught by Jessica McLaughlin.

Blogging isn’t entirely new to me. Last year I was living and working in Japan and thought blogging would be a brilliant way to keep my friends and family back home up-to-date about my latest escapades. Although I was a newbie, I was apparently doing the right things, according to what I’ve learned from Jessica so far. I made regular posts, uploaded pictures and made it as interactive as possible. However, there was one blogging act of sin that I committed. I suddenly neglected it.

Although that blog is still floating around in cyberspace, I haven’t made a new post in months—and I don’t plan to. The last post sadly reads: April 13, 2008. My Japanese adventures are a past chapter in my life. I’ve moved on. I have many great memories and the blog documents it all in a perfect package, much like an online scrapbook. I contemplated hitting "delete" many times but decided against it. With one click of a button it could vanish, but I just can’t do it. I invested so much time tapping away on my keyboard last year creating stories that I’ll remember for years to come.

Traveling has always been one of my greatest passions and in the past year, I’ve explored more ground than I have in my entire life. This blog is going to be dedicated to my passion for travel and PR. Social media experiment number two? With lots of trips under my belt and many more planned this year, I say: bring on the blogging!